
On Saturday during our Hawaii vacation, we drove halfway around the island to see our favorite hula show. I snagged the coveted couches in the open-air lounge as an elderly couple abandoned them, and we all settled in to…

On Saturday during our Hawaii vacation, we drove halfway around the island to see our favorite hula show. I snagged the coveted couches in the open-air lounge as an elderly couple abandoned them, and we all settled in to…

On the eve of our vacation, Mom raced to Target for a few last-minute airplane snacks. Since going mostly gluten-free, she mainly munches on cocoa-coated almonds, dried fruit, and dark chocolate. (Yes, chocoholism is genetic!)

I refused to eat tofu as a kid. It probably had something to do with the name: “toe”-foo. Toes reminded me of feet, feet were stinky, and I protested against putting anything smelly near my mouth. (Especially French Roquefort…
I was invited to my first-ever dinner party! Somebody actually wanted to have dinner with me! Never mind the fact that it’s virtual and I can’t actually eat any of the food… (Well, maybe I could try to lick my…
Many children dread this Monday morning. Classes begin again, and the school bus will shuttle them off to memorize more multiplication tables and write big book reports. The recess bell sounds too quickly, the lunch break ends too soon, and…
My popcorn kernels, peanut butter, and nutella all bully each other around on their crowded shelf in my pantry. When I pull the peanut butter down, he knocks the nutella over, and when I grab the popcorn kernels, they push…
Just before Halloween, I elbowed my way through last-minute shoppers on the candy aisle at Walmart. Pausing in front of the large mixed packages with 3 or 4 different types of sweets, I sighed aloud. None of them, not a…
Last month, I invited a friend to dinner at a local Indian place, only to cancel on him two hours before the meal. My stomach had contracted an oh-so-lovely 24-hour bug, which left my lying pitifully on the couch all…
When it came to trick-or-treating, my brother and I meant business. We planned our M&M and Cleopatra costumes over a month in advance, and we drove our ghost- and witch-covered pillowcases clear across town where the homes were closer together…

Even though I gave in and ate five of the thumbprint cookies, maybe Santa disliked the stick, sugary jam. Maybe he preferred a thicker filling, one that didn’t shake like his belly when he laughed. Maybe he wanted a decadent…